The program that made its reputation bouncing Barkley to Boeheim was back at it again.

Only this time as a favorite.

Slipping into that role every bit as well as they often have as underdogs, the Richmond Spiders defeated No. 13 seed Morehead State 65-48 on Saturday to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 1988.

As the better seed and a four-point favorite, this was one the 12th-seeded Spiders were “supposed” to win, and they did — with relative ease in a Southwest regional third-round game in Denver.

They received 19 points from Justin Harper and turned Eagles big man Kenneth Faried into pretty much a nonfactor.

Richmond bottled up Faried, an NBA prospect, by shadowing him with two, sometimes three defenders.

Faried, the leading Division I rebounder in the modern era, finished with 11 points and 13 boards, but it was about as quiet as a double-double gets.

Southeast regional

BYU 89, Gonzaga 67: Jimmer Fredette scored 34 points to lift third-seeded Brigham Young to a victory over 11th-seeded Gonzaga and send the Cougars to New Orleans for the regional semifinals.

It will be BYU’s deepest trip in the NCAA tournament since 1981, the year Danny Ainge went coast to coast against Notre Dame for a last-second game-winner — a play that still holds a special place in BYU’s rich sports history.

Fredette has a few dozen of his own clips on that highlight reel with a chance to add some more next Thursday against Florida, a 73-65 winner over UCLA on the other side of the regional.

Florida 73, UCLA 65: Florida’s smallest player carried the team to its biggest win of the season.

Erving Walker, generously listed at 5-foot-8, scored 21 points and hit several clutch shots down the stretch as the Gators beat UCLA.

Walker scored 10 of Florida’s final 12 points, including four free throws in the last 33 seconds. His most significant basket was a 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining. That shot gave the second-seeded Gators (28-7) a 69-65 lead and forced the No. 7 seed Bruins (23-11) into desperation mode.

Wisconsin 70, Kansas State 65: Jordan Taylor couldn’t hit a thing, missing open shots and contested ones from just about everywhere on the court.

He did so much more when it mattered, though, and Wisconsin is headed back to the round of 16 because of him.

Taylor hit two big free throws and blocked Jacob Pullen’s 3-point attempt in the closing seconds to overcome a rough shooting night, lifting the Badgers to a win.

Taylor shot just 2 of 16 but came up with the biggest play of the game, swatting Pullen’s tying attempt in the final seconds with Wisconsin (25-8) up three. Josh Gasser then hit two free throws to seal it, sending the fourth-seeded Badgers into the round of 16 for the fourth time since 2000.

Pullen matched a career high with 38 points to break Mike Evans’ school career scoring mark (2,115 points), but he walked away wiping tears with his jersey after a stellar four years in the Little Apple.

East regional

Kentucky 71, West Virginia 63: It didn’t take Brandon Knight long to build an impressive resume in the NCAA tournament. A game-winning shot in the closing seconds of his debut. A career-best 30 points in his next game, helping Kentucky back into the round of 16.

Two days after his only basket helped the fourth-seeded Wildcats survive their tourney opener against Princeton, Knight led an 11-0 run coming out of halftime and made six free throws in the final minute to close out a victory over fifth-seeded West Virginia.

Kentucky (27-8) advanced to the East regional semifinals in Newark, N.J., against either No. 1 seed Ohio State or eighth-seeded George Mason. It’s the second trip to the round of 16 in two seasons under coach John Calipari.

West regional

Connecticut 69, Cincinnati 58: Kemba Walker scored 33 points and the supposedly powerful Big East finally advanced a team to the NCAA tournament’s round of 16.

Violent police encounters in California last year led to the deaths of 157 people and six officers, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday in a report that provides the first statewide tally on police use-of-force incidents.